Alright, so this entire detailed layout is copied and pasted, and I strongly suggest you at least give it a once over, just so you understand exactly how this game operates. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

A few more important kinks to remember before we actually launch into the full explanation:

Bumps: Each GM has 24 hours to pick their character. Once those 24 hours are up, you get that pick bumped to the end of the round, and have to wait your turn once more. Bumps only occur once the commish or the judges have authorized it - once that happens, the next GM in line is free to draft their character.

Trumps: You are allowed to trump multiple characters together, to fight as a team. As explained below, when you do this, your trump occupies two spots on your ten-character roster. Once one of the spots is called to fight, the other turns into an automatic forfeit. The numbers are called in a completely random fashion to ensure nobody is screwed over.

Preps: Every round, you're allowed to prepare two of your characters (or, if you want, a single trump). Prep time is explained more below, but basically it gives the prepared character 24 hours to plan against their opponent, with the use of whatever objects they might be able to get their hands on. They are also given a file detailing the general info about their opponent.

No B-Level: Certain characters are not allowed to use their B-level canon, whether they originated in comic books (Batman, Spider-man, etc) or literature (Lord of the Rings, Anne Rice's Lestat, Harry Potter, etc). These characters are restricted to the feats they've shown on the big screen and the small screen.

Cohesion: It might not matter too much in the individual battles, but if your squad goes to teams against another GM, and they have a number of solid connections while you've got The Bride, Bill (RIP), Harry and Voldemort on the same side - don't hold out much hope. Draft characters who you think would work best together.

Participants

There are three different types of participants in this (and any) draft game.

2. The GMs It's the job of the GMs to assemble their teams, mainly through drafting, but trades and free agency can be used as well. It's also the job of the GMs to send in numbers (we'll discuss this later), and, optionally, argue as to why their character(s) should win matches.

3. The Judges It's the job of the Judges to, well, judge. They decide who will win matches. They also are encouraged to provide breakdowns of teams and grades for draft picks as the drafting moves along, but this is not required.

So that's an overview, let's look at the way the draft will shake-out.

Step 1: The Draft

Once all the positions are filled, I'll randomize the draft order and post the list from which the GMs will draft their teams. There will be ten rounds of drafting, which of course means that each team will consist of ten characters. The draft order will also reverse after each round. This is so that the people in the lower part of the first round aren't getting the shaft by giving them picks that are closer together.

Example:

Round 1
1. Team A
2. Team B
3. Team C
4. Team D

Round 2
1. Team D
2. Team C
3. Team B
4. Team A

And we'll do ten rounds like that.

STEP 2: THE MATCHUPS

Once all ten rounds of drafting are completed, I'll post the first round of matchups. Each GM's squad will face off against another GM's squad. Once the matchups are posted, I'll ask each GM to PM me a set of numbers. Basically what you do here is assign each character on your squad a number from 1 to 8, and when I randomly call, for example, the number 6, whoever you placed at number 6 will square off against whomever the opposing GM placed at number 6. Fairly simple, right?

Let's look at a hypothetical set of numbers.

Suppose you had the following team: Jack Bauer, Pinhead, V, Harry Potter, Tyler Durden, The Bride, Jack Burton, Mr. Incredible, Shrek, and Tony Montana. You could send in numbers like so:

That, or any order. It really is best to keep things random. Just don’t make it too random, or it’ll be predictable.

Now, you'll notice that I said that you can assign eight numbers. So why do we have ten rounds of drafting and ten characters per team? Simple. You have to decide on the two characters that you want to sit out the individual battles for that round. GMs can switch which characters they want to sit out, though. In the example above, that hypothetical GM decided to sit out Jack Burton and Shrek. But, after that match is over and he is facing off against a different GM, he could decide put those two characters into the match and sit out, say, Harry Potter and Pinhead. It's up to the GM to decide which characters would serve him best in the individual battles for that round.

Not to worry, though. All ten of your characters will participate in team battles, if that becomes necessary.

A team battle occurs if, after we get through all eight rounds of individual battles, the two squads are deadlocked at four wins apiece. The team battle will then act as a tiebreaker and the winner of that battle will win the match. And team battles are just what they sound like. The judges have to decide which team would win in an all out brawl between every character on both squads.

OPTIONAL STRATEGIES:

Here are a couple of different things that you can use (or not use) when sending in your numbers:

Trumps

A trump is when you place two characters together for a greater chance of winning their matchup. Sounds simple, right? But there's a downside. Trumping your characters together for a greater chance of success will result in an auto-loss for your squad.

Now, when I call, say, number 7, both Tony and Harry will face off against whomever your opponent has at number seven. Obviously, they have a greater chance of defeating whomever comes up as their opponent, but there's always the possibility that their opponent is completely out of their league. That's known as "trump busted" (not to be confused with "slump busting"). That's the risk involved with trumping.

Now, once that trump has done battle, whether they win or lose, when I call the other number the trump used (in this case 4), the team will receive an auto-loss in that spot and whomever the other team has on that number will get the win no matter what.

Now, can you use multiple trumps or even put more than two characters together in one trump? Yes, of course. You can trump your team however you see fit. Just always be aware that you will receive an auto-loss for each team member that's trumped, so don't get too carried away.

Now, because this GM is using a three different trumps and one of them involves three characters, this GM will receive four auto-losses. Which numbers get the auto-losses are random, since I'll be calling out the numbers in a random order. So, if I call number 8 first, then T-1000, V, and Tyler will all do battle against whomever the opponent has at number 8, but then when I call number 2 and number 6, this team will receive an autoloss each time.

It may seem a bit complicated, but it's not that bad. At least not once you get into the game.

Preparation Time

The second of our optional strategies is known as prep time. Basically what this means is that you can assign up to two of your characters prep time when sending in your numbers. So, again, your numbers could look like this:

Being prepared means that the character(s) to which you assign preparation time will know in advance who they are fighting, and will be given a basic file on the commonly known strengths and weaknesses of their opponent. The prepared character will not be told where their opponent will begin the match, although they themselves will be able to begin the match wherever they want on the battlefield. They will have 24 hours to prepare a strategy, assemble, buy, or build weapons and armors, create traps in the battlefield, etc.

Now, I put this under optional strategies, and yes, prep time is optional. However, unlike trumping, there's no penalty for using prep time for your characters, so it's pretty much in your best interests to assign two of your characters prep time for every match. Even if you don't end up with any characters that would obviously benefit a great deal from it, you might as well give the prep time to someone. The difference might be minimal, but you never know when it could be the difference maker in a really close match.

Now, can you prep a trump? Yes, yes you can. However, prepping a trump will consume one of your preps for each member of the trumps. So instead of being able to prepare two different individual fighters for that match, you would only have the prepared two-man trump. It's completely up to the GM how you wish to send in your numbers.

It's also important to note that during team battles, both teams are considered to have prep time.

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So, that's pretty much the gist of it all. There are obviously a lot of different things you can do when sending in your numbers that can make or break you. With all the different ways you can trump and the multiple prep times you can assign, no two matches should even be close to being alike.